Conservatives Cautious in Embracing Romney

Evangelical Christians and tea-party supporters, key members of the Republican base, will continue take their time in warming up to GOP front-runner Mitt Romney, a key conservative leader said on Sunday.

“There is not going to be that enthusiasm among the base” for Mr. Romney, said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian organization.

“The focus now is on the House and the Senate and expanding conservative majorities” in Congress, he said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” suggesting some conservatives are growing weary of the presidential primary fight and turning their attention to congressional races.

Mr. Perkins headed a meeting of social conservative leaders in Texas last month that backed Rick Santorum’s campaign. But after a strong showing in Iowa, Mr. Santorum has struggled. He finished a disappointing fourth in Saturday’s Nevada caucuses.

Mr. Perkins said Mr. Romney was preferable to President Barack Obama, but added that it could take until the Republican convention to see support for Mr. Romney solidify among social conservatives.

Former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey also showed tepid support for Mr. Romney, but conceded that the ex-Massachusetts governor appears likely to take the nomination.

“We’re not going to get a reliable, small-government conservative out of this nominating process,” Mr. Armey said on CNN. Mr. Armey is chairman of FreedomWorks, an organization that has aligned itself with tea-party supporters.

Mr. Armey said he doesn’t see former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who appears to be fading, building fresh momentum as the Republican primary race continues.

Mr. Gingrich is “taking a second-rate campaign and turning it into a first-rate vendetta,” said Mr. Armey, who was a Republican leader alongside Mr. Gingrich in the 1990s. “I don’ t think Newt will be able to replicate that magic moment he had in South Carolina.”

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